It could be the typical "so long, see y'all later" kinda deal, but I think there's a more important message to leave.

And here it is:

When I first got into the newspaper business, I really enjoyed politics.

Of course, that might have something to do with timing. My first election as a working journalist was 1992, a year when an unknown governor from Arkansas swept into the White House and an unknown legislative operative bounced a legendary U.S. representative from the 1st District seat.

In the years since Bill Clinton and Blanche Lincoln burst onto the national scene, politics has changed.

For the worse.

Back in the old days - a full decade ago - it seemed like partisans could disagree about ideology. The debates could be unruly and heated, but everyone knew why they were there. Namely, to get something done for the folks who put them in office. There was one way to do that.

Compromise.

In the end, something got done that didn't exactly please anyone but it worked out pretty well for those totin' the note.

Fast forward just a few years, and I barely recognize the landscape.

Now, compromise is a four-letter word. Politics is a blood game, and not just for those in office. That's the worst part. Partisan politics has filtered down to the masses, and they've become the ideologues.

They take no prisoners. There is no compromise. It's my way or the highway, and to hell with everybody else.

Politics today means seeing things through my blinders and anyone who disagrees with me is a complete idiot, or worse, a lying, conniving piece of trash who's out to rule the world.

That's where we're heading. We're already a good piece down the road.

Many folks have this idea that any opinion not in lockstep with their own has no right to exist. Their opinion - the correct one - should be tattooed on everyone's forehead, but dissenting views require prison terms.

Many of these opinions come straight from God. I don't have a direct line to Heaven, but apparently I'm one of the few.

Of course, we're talking only about God as He/She relates to how"Christians" view God. And something else about what passes for "Christianity" these days - since when can a "Christian" mix Old Testament wrath and an eye-for-an-eye rationale with Jesus Christ's commandments to love your neighbor and forgive over and over? My Catechism didn't let me mix and match the parts of the Bible that I liked, ignoring the rest. But I digress ...

Think I'm exaggerating about how one person's opinion is quickly becoming everyone's rule?

Every day, every single day, I get at least one phone call from someone complaining about a column or a letter on this "Opinions" page.

"You shouldn't print that."

"I don't like that."

"That's communist, and you are, too."

Folks, this nation's foundation includes a big block that gives every person the right to speak his or her mind and be heard, without being shouted down, even by those who may happen to be in the majority.

Everyone has a right to an opinion, even if it's the wrong one.

Those who would silence other's opinions would do well to remember that they may need someone someday to defend their right to espouse an unpopular opinion.